Cooling device



G. J. PEARDON COOLING DEVICE Oct. 8, 1940.

Filed Jan. 30, 1939 B N V E N T 0 R v Gordon Josey/7. Peardor/j BY:L//w/VZ/ JMW-MEV Patented Oct. 8, 1940 UNITED ySTATES COOLING DEVICEApplication January 30, 1939, Serial No. 253,667

4 Claims.

This vinvention relates to a device for rapidly cooling milk or anyother liquid by means of agitation and a cooling fluid.

An object of the present invention is the pro- 5 vision of a coolingdevice which requires a relatively small amount of power for operation.

Another object is the provision of a cooling device of extremely simpleconstruction and yet which effectively and rapidly cools liquids.

A further object is the provision of a cooling device adapted to keepoil or grease from the working parts thereof and dirt away from theliquid being cooled.

There are numerous devices for cooling milk l5 by utilizing water as thecooling means and motive power. The majority of these, however, are

extremely complicated in construction and require considerable waterpressure for operation. As this type of device is usually used on farmswhere there is not a great deal of pressure in the water systems, notmany of the known coolers are practical. The relatively great expense ofsome makes it impossible for the average farmer to buy them. There arecooling devices of simple 25 construction but unfortunately they are sosimple that they will `not operate properly and, therefore, will notcool the milk as rapidly as is necessary. In others, there is nothing toprevent dirt or the oil and grease used to lubricate them from gettinginto the milk. p

This invention overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages by providinga cooling device of extremely simple construction having a novel meansof suspending the working parts thereof whereby friction is reduced to aminimum so that a fluid under relatively low pressure may be utilized asthe cooling means and motive power. This device is constructed in such amanner that dirt, oil or other foreign matter cannot get into the liquidbeing cooled.

The present invention consists essentially of a cooling devicecomprising a cover adapted to rest upon the top of a receptacle, ahousing supported 4 above the cover, an agitator extending freelythrough the cover and below the latter, a bearing suspended from thehousing adapted to carry the agitator, and fluid operated means in thehousing for causing the agitator to rotate, as 50 more fully describedin the following specication and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which- Figure l is a side elevation partly in section of thecooling device mounted upon a receptacle 55 which is also partly insection,

Figure 2 is a plan view of the device with part of the top broken away,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Figurel, and

Figure 4 is a reduced side elevation of a recep- 5 tacle, part of whichis broken away, showing the 4 cooling ldevice in operative position.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, A is the cooling deviceadapted to be seated on a receptacle 0r can B. As the device is particu-10 larly designed for cooling milk, it isy madeto iit a receptacle Bhaving continuous, vertical sides, as shown, or it may be made to iitthe well known type of milk can, the diameter of the top of which isless than that of the bottom thereof.

The cooling device A consists of a ycover I in the form of a truncatedcone, adapted to rest on the top of the receptacle B and having.y aflange or skirt Il spaced inwardly from its outer edge l2, said skirttting snugly inside the receptacle. When the cover is placed on thereceptacle, it extends outwardly beyond the walls thereof. A relativelylarge opening i3 is formed in the top of the cover lll.

A housing M, supported above the cover l@ 26 by straps I5, is formedwith a removable cover I6 and a concave bottom Il having an opening I8centrally thereof. Fluid operated means, such as a water wheel 2li, isflxedly mounted in the housing lll upon a relatively large tube 2l which'30 extends downwardly through the opening I8 in the bottom of thehousing, through the opening I3 in the cover It) and below the latter. Apacking gland 22 extends downwardly from the bottom Il around the tube2i and packing 23 is 35 held therein by a packing nut gli. A pluralityof holes 25 are formed in the tube 2i between the hub of the water wheeland the bottom il of the housing i4. Fluid, such as water, air or gas,is supplied to the housing lll through a pipe 2G which communicates withthe interior of the housing at a tangent thereto, the other end of saidpipe being connected to a suitable source of supply (not shown).

The tube 2i extends downwardly below' the 45 cover I0 into thereceptacle B and terminates adjacent the bottom thereof (see Fig. 4).Branch pipes 2'1 and 28 communicate with the tube 2l at its lower end.These branch pipes, extending outwardly from the tube 2l atsubstantially right 50 angles thereto, are each bent at til into avertical position and again at 3l whence they extend back to the tube2|. At this point, the pipes 2l and 28 are again bent into a verticalposition and extend upwardly along the tube through the A bearing rod35, anchored in the cover I6l at l u 36 and suspended from the housing,extends downwardly into the tube 2| centrally thereof and terminates ina ball bearing 31. A bearing plate 38 is mounted in the tube and'is'provided"" with a central orice 40 through which therod 35 freelyextends. The plate 38 is adapted to rest upon the ball 31 so that thetube 2 I, branch pipes 21 and 28, member 32 :and water-wheel 20 are allcarried by said ball bearing.

In operation, a uid, such as, for example, water, is supplied underpressure to the housing |4 through the pipe 26. The water causes thewater wheel 20 to rotate which, in turn, causes the tube 2| and thepipes 21 and 28 to rotate about the axis thereof. At the same time, thewater is discharged from the housing i4 through the holes 25 into thetube 2|, from which it flows into the branch pipes 21 and 28. Finally,the Water flows out of the branch pipes at 33 and 34 over the conicalmember 32 and passes over the cover Ill. The tube 2| and the pipes 21and 28 form an agitator extending downwardly from the housing which isrotated by the wheel 20. As the agitator rotates, it stirs and rapidlycools the milk in the receptacle B. The hot air rising from the milk isfree to pass through the opening I3 and out through the space betweenthe cover land the conical member 32.

The whole agitator and its associated parts are supported entirely bythe bearing 31 upon which the plate 38 rests. The only other point offriction is where the packing 23 touches the tube 2|.. The friction atthis point, however, is almost negligible as the packing is kept veryloose since it does not matter if a little water leaks through the gland22. The water, after having passed through the device, continues toassist in cooling the contents of the receptacle B as it flows over thecover I0 and down along the sides of the receptacle.

The friction has been reduced to such a point in this device that ittakes very little pressure to operate the agitator. Nevertheless, ifdesired, a motor (not shown) may be connected to the tube 2| forrotating the agitator, particularly if i-t is desired to cool the milkin an exceedingly short time. Compressed air or gas might be used inplace of water as the motive power and cooling means. Another variationis that a hot uid might be utilized in this device for heating a liquidin the receptacle B.

The structure of this device is extremely simple and there are onlythree pipes to wash after eachuoperation. The `cover l0 keeps dirt, oilor grease out of the liquid in the receptacle B during opera-tion'whilethe holes 25 in the tube 2| control the flow of water therein and,consequently,

the speed of rotation of the agitator.r

From the above, it will readily be seen that a device for rapidlycooling milk or any other liquid has been provided which is very simplein construction, extremely effective and requires very little power foroperation.

Various modifications may be made in this invention without departingfrom the spirit thereof or the scope of the claims, and therefore theexact forms shown are to be taken as illustrative only and' not in alimiting sense, and it is desired that only such limitations shall beplaced thereon as are ldisclosed in the prior art or are set forth inthe accompanying claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

' 1.',A cooling device comprising a cover adapted tcl/rest upon the topof a receptacle, a housing supported above the cover, an agitatorextending froml the` housing freely through the cover and belowthelatter, said agitator including a vertical tube and at least onebranch pipe communicat- .ing with the lower end thereof,. abearing-suspended from the housing and. extendingl a substantialdistance into the vertical tube,said bearing being adapted to carry theagitator, and fluid operated means in the housing for causing ltheagitator to rotate. l

2. A cooling device comprising a cover adapted to rest upon the top of areceptacle, a housing supported above the cover, an agitator extendingfrom the housing freely through the cover and below the latter, .abearing suspended from the housing into the agitator, a bearing platevmounted in the agitator adapted to rest upon the bearing, said bearingbeing adapted to carry the agitator, and fluid operated means in thehousing for causing the agitator to rotate about the bearing. Y

3. A cooling device comprising a cover adapted to rest upon thetop of la receptacle, a housing supported above the cover, an agitator havingacentral tube extending from the housing Lfreely through the covervand-below the latter, a bearing rod extending downwardly from thehousing into the agitator tube centrally thereof, .a ball bearing on thelower end of the rod, 2a bearing plate mounted in the agitator tube.having a central orificethrough which the bearing rod freely extends,saidY plate being adapted to rest upon the ball bearing, and fluidoperated means in the housing for causing the agitator to rotate aboutthe ball bearing.

4. A cooling device comprising a cover in the form of a truncated coneadapted to rest upon the top of a receptacle, said cover having arelatively large openingin the top thereof, a housing supported abovevthe cover, an agitator having a central tube extending from the housingfreely through the opening in the cover and below the latter, abearingrod extending downwardly from the housing into the agitator tubecentrally thereof, a ball bearing on the lower end of the rod, a bearingplate mounted in the agitator tube having a central orifice throughwhich the bearing rod freely extends, said plate being adapted to restupon the ball bearing, and fluid operated means inthe housing'forcausing the agitator to rotate about the ball bearing.

